EP 062: Growing Up Black in Detroit in America

There is so much going on in the world today... especially now with the #BlackLivesMatter movement. I would be remise if I didn't speak to it... 

Especially as someone who is black, born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, America. 

You can also listen on Spotify, iTunes and Stitcher

"Tough times don’t last, tough people do."

I remember my Uncle said this to me when I was having a tough time in life and we were driving around checking on his business dealings.

And now… Well I’m saying it to you: "Tough times don’t last, tough people do.”

I know it has been feeling tough lately...

At least I’ll speak for myself, despite making money in the stock market, the Pandemic has just been awful for some (business going out of business, people losing loved ones, not being able to celebrate graduations and birthdays like normal, etc…

And then…

Boom here comes a reminder of racism and police brutality that America and especially us Black people are all too familiar with.

So I took a step back from my regular money, stock market and mindset content and wanted to share my thoughts around the current state of things, growing up black in Detroit and in America.

I may not have 100% of the facts right in this episode...

But then again whoever does have 100% of anything right but I hope you get the big picture I’m sharing with you.

Click here to watch the video version on YouTube. 

It may seem like people are reacting to this one single act, the death of George Floyd. 

But in reality... 

This has started wayyyy before then. 

There is a history here in America of slavery. 

Where someone actually OWNED someone else. And once slaves were set "free"... they weren't allowed to buy land or property themselves. 

And then there was segregation in schools - where black people were not afforded the same education and opportunities. 

Even back in the day... black music wasn't aired on the radio. So much so that certain Motown singers would literally hire white models to be on the cover of their albums so that their music would sell and get played on the radio. 

So you see in my mind... this goes a lot deeper than this single act, but a culmination of hundreds of years. 

I was born and raised in Detroit. 

We lived right by 8 mile... This represented the divide between black and white people. 

South of 8 mile was where the black community lived... and to the north was where primarily white people lived. 

So as a kid, I was nervous crossing over 8 mile. You had to tell someone when you were leaving, when you went, when you were coming back... 

Because you feared perhaps getting locked up for no reason and not coming back. 

I am not that old... this was not that long ago. 

That is what we went through. 

If we crossed 8 mile, we had to take our baseball caps off and sit up straight and turn the music down and put two hands on the wheel... for no reason at all. 

All because we knew we could be racially discriminated against. 

And honestly, it effected me into my adulthood. 

I think about when I started my business... 

I used to only share my screen or my logo in my videos. Never my face. 

I think apart of me sadly thought...

"Would anybody buy from me because I am black?"

Eventually, obviously as you can see...

I got over it. 

My face and voice is all over my website and education. 

That is something that often we as black people need to think about...

I wanted to speak up and share a little bit about my story. I hope that this will change or impact someone, someway, somehow.